


We All Need Cuddles Sometimes

by nekocat1424



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Cuddles, Fluff, Nightmares, Platonic Cuddling, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-16 01:48:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5808646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nekocat1424/pseuds/nekocat1424
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Steve keeps having nightmares and can't seem to find his place amongst the avengers. He's in need of cuddles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We All Need Cuddles Sometimes

Since Steve had been awoken from the ice, he had terrible nightmares, worse than before the war. He didn’t have Bucky to cuddle up to and kiss away the tears anymore, he was alone. None of the other avengers knew how much the nightmares plagued him. It was getting to be an every night thing, he would wake up in sweat, freezing from the very vivid feeling of being surrounded by ice. And there was Bucky falling, he could see their hands inching ever so closer and then whoosh, his best friend gone. Steve would sit there in his bed in the Stark tower, the nightmare playing through his mind even while he was awake. It would take him forever to get back to sleep, most of the time he couldn’t go back to sleep and ended up getting up at the crack of dawn and working out. Punching some bags in the gymnasium never did any good in getting rid of the nightmares, only helped him forget the one he had recently. He didn’t want to burden anyone with his problems, they all had enough on their plates and probably could care less about his stars-spangled ass. With no missions recently, the team had time to hang out together and get to know more about one another. Steve though wanted something to do, something to take his mind off of the nightmares, last night’s was still hanging out in the back of his mind. None of the others seemed to notice that he spent more and more time alone in his bedroom.

But one night, Natasha and Clint were sleeping together in her bed, like they do when she woke up randomly. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, she wasn’t having a nightmare. She looked at Clint who was snuggled up to her, happily sleeping. Something inside her told her that she should go check on everyone. Getting out of Clint’s clutches was a bit hard to do without him waking up, but Natasha managed it. Natasha silently walked down the hallway, going to each floor of the Stark tower, looking in each of the bedrooms. It would have been creepy, but she told herself that they would understand if she had to explain why she was roaming around their apartment at this hour. Besides, she’s Black Widow, why does she have to explain herself. Stopping at Steve’s door, she soon realized why her senses had woken her up. Steve was huddled in a ton of blankets, shaking and sobbing.

Natasha slowly entered the room, “Steve?” She didn’t want to startle him. He looked up at her, trying to brush away the tears that streaked his face.

“Na-natasha?” the super-soldier said in a quivering voice.

She came over to him, sitting down on the bed, pulling him into her embrace, “A nightmare?” He nodded, sucking in shaky breaths. Natasha brushed away some of the tears and looked at him with such understanding and kindness, it made Steve want to cry more.

“It’s alright, Steve, even the best of us have nightmares,” she told him, remembering when even Tony came to her looking like a kicked puppy and just wanting to be held. “Telling someone about them, help if you want to talk?”

Steve leaned into her hug, shivering trying to get warm, “Bucky f-fell again, I couldn’t do anything to stop it and then there was ice and it’s… it’s so cold, Natasha..”

She listened to him, nodding, pressing a kiss to his forehead as she held him close, “It wasn’t your fault, Steve. That’s in the past, you can’t go back and fix it.”

“It is my fault,” he said strongly, “I think I can forgive myself of everything else, except for that.” He took a breath in between the little tear that rolled down his face, “Bucky was always there for me and.. and I let him down..”

“Shhh… Steve,” Natasha brushed his hair off of his forehead, “I can’t help you get rid of your nightmares, but I can help you cope and maybe lessen them.” She grabbed a tissue from a box on Steve’s nightstand, wiping away more tears, “You can come join Clint and me in my bed. It’s strictly platonic, cuddling and just sleeping next to someone seems to help with nightmares.”

Steve looked up at her, eyes still teary as he tried to calm down, “If that’s alright with the both of you… then I would be fine giving that a try.”

“Of course it’s alright with Clint, you aren’t the first person who joined us. Even the play boy himself came and cuddled with us,” Natasha said with a smile, “How often do you have this nightmares, Steve?”

He let that information soak up for a moment, he didn’t ever think about any of the avengers cuddling with one another, it simply never crossed his mind, “Every night.. I can’t sleep a lot anymore.” He shivered again, still very cold.

She nodded, petting his hair softly, “Alright, Steve. Come on. Let’s get you to bed.” Natasha got up, pulling away from him, waiting until he got up from the bed before wrapping another blanket around him. Steve followed her, leaning against her as they went through his apartment and up to hers.

There they found Clint still sleeping but he woke up to the sound of the two entering the bedroom. The archer merely glanced at Steve before nodding, moving over to make some more room and then falling back to sleep. Natasha ushered Steve in between her and Clint. Steve curled up with Natasha’s arms around him, wrapped up in his blankets. He felt content for the first time in a long time, sure Natasha and Clint weren’t Bucky, but the human contact was very comforting. Steve was warm again, not trembling and soon fell asleep against Natasha.

That morning, Steve woke up feeling refreshed. When he tried to move, he realized that he was entangled in Clint’s legs and Natasha’s arms were still cradling him. He smiled softly, carefully moving so he could sit up.

“Hey there, handsome,” Natasha said quietly as she blinked up at him before sitting up with him, “You feel better today?”

Steve rubbed his eyes, giving her a nod, “I think that’s the best sleep I’ve had since before the war.”

She smiled brightly at him, “I’m glad. You’re welcome to join us anytime you need to.”

Clint grunted, still half asleep, “Yeah, whenever.”

Steve did, in fact Natasha and Clint have gotten used to seeing the soldier in their bed every night. He claimed it was still because of his nightmares, but Natasha knew the man loved just cuddling with others and she wasn’t going to deny him any of it. Occasionally one of the other avengers would join the three and Steve soon got used to cuddling with all of them. Sometimes he could be found cuddling up to Tony after one of his nightmares and even Bruce. They all were happy to share their beds with one another if that meant they got some snuggling and comfort. It felt like one big family to Steve and he seemed to have found his place amongst them.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this because I really wanted some Steve cuddles.  
> I might come back and fix somethings.  
> I'm not sure if I'll add anymore to this since I have a different fanfiction that really needs my attention. But we shall see!


End file.
